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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. board — to get on
  4. cap — a lid
  5. scale — in music
  6. board — a committee
  7. scale — size or range
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mark — to pay attention

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com